Win or Die.

[lizbeth-mairead.livejournal.com]

Name: Brandi
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is: coldblossom told me about it.
Age: 20
Location: Texas, United States
Occupation: College student.




All About You

1. Describe your ideal house/home. Please go into as much detail as possible, and be sure to include your ideal geographical location in the description!.

My ideal home is solitary and secluded, but not completely isolated from a city, a few miles outside because while I enjoy my privacy and quietness, I enjoy markets, parks, cafes, and museums. Located in a countryside setting, with lots of green, on the cliffs or bluffs of a seascape, but north enough where I would still get snow. The house itself would be of colonial architecture, but with numerous windows. The walls would be adorned with paintings, because while I can’t draw or paint very well, I appreciate art and adore it. The house itself would not be large or a mansion, but two stories and spacious enough for me and at least two others. A very ornate fireplace and hearth, because while the setting of my home is cold, inside is warm. I don't mind the cold, but I believe that a home is a place of peace, love, and comfort, and warmth is not just a temperature, but a feeling. I'd stock fresh flowers in vases in every room. The most time I would put into the house, though, is a deck on the oceanfront side, with an easy route to the beach.

2. Imagine you’re given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Please be as elaborate as you can. Wishing for more wishes is not permitted!

-My first wish would be to have wisdom. Wisdom is not just having knowledge of books, history, math, science, and academic subjects. Wisdom includes and incorporates having judgment, good and common sense, and the ability to discern qualities and relationships in people and situations. A truly wise person would be able to gain charisma, honor, and respect, and know how to use them.

-My second wish would be to find a partner, mate, and best friend in a husband. I do want love, but I want love with a person I can confide in, depend on, have respect from, and be able to equally give it back. I want to be able to have a stimulating, intelligent conversation with him one minute, or suddenly be able to laugh with him the next. I don’t ask for anything but respect, trust, and love. I’m not someone who dwells on looks or status, but I will be the first to admit that they’re not bad things either. The passionate side of love is desirable, but i also want someone that I can be comfortable with, too.

-My third and final wish is an odd one, I know, but I’d wish for the ability to breathe or exist under water. My worst fear is drowning, but I love to swim and I love the ocean. I’m not afraid of death, really, just of suffocation (which I understand is a tad confusing, but it’s more of a phobia). It’s a very conflicting fear, but I also find that the ocean is so vast and limitless that if I could never have to breathe in water I’d be able to explore, examine, and experience the marine life and the mysteries in the sea. Exploration is important to me, because if I can’t discover new things and be able to have experiences learning about nature and life, how can I learn? Therefore, if I could be able to explore more of the ocean, it would open up an entire vault of possibilities without holding fear.


3. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? Why? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)

I’m most proud of my education and my aptitude for learning. I’ve worked very hard on my studies, and I’ve come to find through it that I adapt well with challenge. The hardest things I’ve had to do in life I’ve been able to embrace and come out stronger and smarter because of it. I have respect for myself, and I take pride in being a person who never short changes my challenge. I do it fully, completely, to the best of my ability, even if I’m by myself. I don’t like conflict, and I avoid it if possible, but I adept well in adversity and trials.

4. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you? Please explain why for each choice.

Love. Love is complex and is a coin with an infinite number of sides. You can love your family, love your friends-but you can also experience a love for your passions and skills. The love of self, being able to love who you are. Love holds trust, honor, and courage. It’s something that is pure. You can argue that there is no such thing as “true love”, or you can argue that love doesn’t really exist at all. But love isn’t just a feeling, it’s also something you do. It’s in my nature to love-my family, my country, my God. I don’t just feel love, but I experience it every day, an adoration for goodness. It’s true that I hold knowledge as important, but you can’t truly experience knowledge-or wisdom-without knowing love.

The least important thing to me (on the list) is money. It’s inconvenient to need money when you have none, it’s true, but I’m capable, able, and willing to better myself and come by my means respectfully. However, I refuse to let money hold power over me because I’ve seen firsthand what it can do to people. I care about it, but not enough to hold it over the most important things in life. Money causes problems, and often enough it makes your conscience bleak. I’d rather sleep on the floor and be happy than lie in silk sheets and not be able to sleep at night.

That being said, from most important to least: Love, Adventure, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Pleasure, and Money.


5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.

"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence." -Mohandas Gandhi

I’m naturally a shy but passionate person. I’m passionate about what I believe in, and when I feel like a family member or one of my friends have been insulted or hurt, I will do what I can to make it right. This quote is important to me because I believe in being consistent with my attitudes and actions. Violence isn’t just physical action, either, and if I’m forced to be violent, I make sure it’s for something that’s worth it. Standing up for my beliefs is something I’ve taken care and pride with, and over the years I’ve learned to be proud of believing in things worth fighting for at all.


6. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you? Go into as much detail as you can.

I like to think that I manage my money well. Because I’m not working at the moment, I’m not bringing anything in, but when I was working from my very first job I started saving and making a budget. I didn’t always stick to it, but it made me more accountable in what I did. I prioritized my material life and took more care with the things I already had. Financial security is VERY important, because money (too much AND lack of) causes problems. My father offers me spending money all the time, but I hate just taking money without a reason. I don’t feel guilty, but I don’t like the feeling of spending money that I didn’t earn-because I find pride in being able to provide for myself.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?

-Reading. I’m an avid book worm, and I have been since elementary school. My favorite types of books are historical fiction and fantasy, but I’ll read books on religion, politics, mystery, and biographies. It’s a therapeutic source of entertainment and escape while mentally stimulating. One of my favorite pastimes is to be in a quiet café, or on the beach, and simply lose myself in a book.

-Writing. This stems off of my love for reading. When I was much younger, in fifth and sixth grade, I would be so upset or irritated over the ending of a movie or book that I’d reimagine it how I thought it should end. I ended up writing out some of them, and then as I got older I realized that people write for a living-and I turned it into a hobby. I have a few novels that I’ve been working on, including short stories and poetry, too.

-Music. I play the piano, the flute, and I sing. I adore music. You can find spirituality, entertainment, and emotion in music. I love classical, instrumental, easy listening, jazz, rock-a little of everything. My mom encouraged me to get into band when I was in elementary school, and I continued until my freshman year. I was in choir at a very young age, and went back into it when the band teacher quit at my school. Now I play in an orchestra as well as continue to sing with a choir and solo. I love being a part of a group of people, communicating with music, but I also enjoy being able to show people my own personal talent just by singing by myself.

-Dancing. I was a part of a theater group for five years, and we performed musicals and such. We practiced dancing to country music, pop music, rock music, and broadway numbers. When I was younger I learned tap, jazz, and ballet. I always wanted to be a ballerina because they’re so graceful and fluid, able to tell stories through movement and music. I learned on my own also how to ballroom dance. I wish it was more popular to waltz and ballroom dance, because it’s a very beautiful form of art that’s died over the years. Dance for me evolved into other forms of movement, such as yoga and even martial arts.


8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.

First, I’m afraid of drowning, as I stated before. It’s not so much death, as I said, but I have a fear of suffocation and the pain that comes with it. Being trapped, unable to escape is probably a deeper interpretation of that fear. It terrifies me to be in a situation that I couldn’t fight-and scenarios like drowning are like that.

The second thing I’m most afraid of is losing my hearing. I feel that if something ever happened to me that I would lose my sight, or speech, or become disabled that I’d be able to recover enough to continue life, but the thought of not being able to hear scares me for a few reasons. I wouldn’t be able to hear music, hear the voices of my family and friends, and hear laughter, or the sounds of nature. Things could be going on all around me, and even if I could see them, I could never be a part of them like I once was, personally.

The third thing I’m afraid of is leading or influencing someone wrongly. If I help a person, I take responsibility for what I say to them. If I give advice, offer assistance, or try to persuade someone in a certain direction, the last thing I’d want to be is wrong because if it was just me- it’d be different. But the thought of ruining someone else or their chances in a situation scares me.


9. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical). Please answer as fully as you can, as this is an important question.

Best-

Grace. I’m not talking about the physical quality of grace, but the quality of merciful judgment and a disposition for kindness. I’m a very kind person, and though I use my best judgment, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I believe in encouraging others, supporting them in their own challenges and offering comfort in their problems when they need it. However, I don’t coddle people, especially if their “problem” isn’t relevant, meaning I do not tolerate whining about petty troubles, which sounds harsh, but I honestly don’t have the patience for wishy-washy problems. If someone sincerely wants and/or needs my help, I’ll do everything I can for them out of the kindness of my heart, not just for what they can give me in return. I take joy out of it.

Determination. This is a loaded quality, I feel, that I possess. I have a very strong ambition. When I want to accomplish something, I’m able to visualize it and translate it to make it happen. However, I feel that I know very well the line between ambition and obsession. I want to better myself and others, but I’m not consumed by it. I don’t strategize my life to pursue things, but I take opportunities when they’re presented, and I make the most of them.

Ingenuity. I feel like my mind is a very strong attribute, and I’m very good at making decisions, plans, and carrying them out. When I see a problem or an opportunity to create, I aim to try things that no one else has done or take routes that others haven’t been able to make work. I’d like to think this is “cleverness.” I’m usually able to make a situation work to benefit not just myself but others. I’m a very creative person, and I love playing the “what if” game. I really enjoy thinking about things from different perspectives and trying them. I like to have possibilities and choices, and if they’re not offered I create them myself.

Worst-

Pride. While I’d like to think I’m someone who doesn’t care about what others think of me, I’m very affected by how others see me. I let things that people say eat away at me. I hate to lose arguments. While I love learning and knowledge, I think that my academic background has ingrained in me a very stubborn refusal of being wrong.

Begrudging. I can hold a grudge like you wouldn’t BELIEVE. When I have been wronged or insulted, it takes a lot for me to bring myself (PRIDE) to forgive. I will resort to every offense I can come up with, trying to justify why I’m perfectly right in not liking someone. I have a very stubborn will, and I will stick to it almost harder than anything. Also, the allegedly mean person doesn't even have to wrong or insult me. If a friend tells me about how they don't like someone (and has a valid reason for it), I'll begrudge that person. It's probably not fair of me to do so, since most of the time I truly don't know them, but it's a flaw.

Loyalty. This is usually a good thing, right? Well, it is, but too much of a good thing can be bad, obviously, and I’m loyal to a fault-spawned off of my second point. I don’t mean for this to sound sugary, either. It’s really truly a personal flaw, because I am very loyal to my friends-but sometimes I let that cloud my judgment. If I’m on a certain team, side, affiliation, or supporting someone, I tend to let it disillusion me into thinking they can “do no wrong.” It makes for a very rude awakening, seeing as how no one is perfect. I have to work on and force myself to realize that. This can tend to make me a less prudent person around those I trust-or worse, those I want to trust.






A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?

-Daenerys is one of my favorite characters, because while she is appropriately an orphaned girl with a cruel brother, she doesn’t have the average tale of a down trodden girl who betters herself. She doesn’t whine, she doesn’t bemoan her station or hold out bitterness and resentment from where she’s from or who her linage is. In fact, she embraces it and lets it guide her. I love her admiration for Rhaegar, as well, which sounds very odd, but reading about his character leads me to believe that perhaps she is of the same stock as he is, but she will be better than him. Powerful, but not evil, unlike Viserys. Daenerys gains respect and admiration in a world that she really in the beginning knows nothing about. She enters an entire world she had no previous knowledge of and makes a name for herself.

-Jon Snow. At first I was attracted to his character because I’m one to root for the underdog, so to speak. I feel like his story mirrors Daenerys’ but differently because there is so much mystery surrounding his origin. Furthermore, Jon is very admirable in the fact that while he is treated as an outsider by his “family”, he doesn’t let it consume him or become his downfall. I think that he owns the station people have put him into and creates it into something to be proud of. His story really portrays the power of loyalty, as well, and how incredibly hard a struggle it is to be purely loyal to any one person because people are all flawed, and when Jon himself becomes a leader and one to gain respect, he sees that even more clearly.

-It’s been a while since I’ve read the series (I’m rereading it now), so I had to really think about my third favorite character, but it is undoubtedly Petyr Baelish. Cunning, wit, and charisma make him who he is. He’s up front and makes no qualms about who he is-a puppeteer, but I don't honestly believe he's malicious (at least not undeservingly). He is powerful in the art of persuasion. He has most of the characters figured out and dialed, knowing exactly how to play them. But he’s not heartless, either-his love for Catelyn was sincere, I believe, even if he couldn’t express and prove it through physical strength. One of my favorite moments in the book (I literally GASPED) was when he was so kind (and dare I say romantic?) towards Sansa, and the ensuing situation which follows with Lysa.


2.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?

-Sansa Stark frustrates me. I like her as a character, but not as much as others because she is so incredibly disillusioned. Granted she’s very young when she goes to court, but she prioritizes a romantic ideal life as the wife of a King, instead of trusting or having the least bit of faith in her family. Unfortunately, it takes the death of her father before she’s able to fully realize and comprehend just how serious and dangerous her once loved courtiers are.

-Theon Greyjoy. I am of the opinion of Jon. He’s an ass. I knew from the minute I read about how he kicked around Gared's head that I wouldn’t like him. He’s spineless and a coward. He wants power, but he doesn’t want to expend the effort to get there, and furthermore I think that he likes the idea of having power more than actually receiving it. I make the assumption that he’s the kind of man who would gain a throne but then resent it because of the-God forbid-work it involves to maintain a kingdom.

-Robert Baranthon. While I totally agree his wife isn’t June Cleaver (surprise, surprise) and he does have some good qualities, I can find an amount of sympathy for Cersei before she turned into the wretch she is. Unrequited love-or worse, finding your lover doesn’t love you but someone else is one of the worst pains that life can give you. His unapologetic “love” for Lyanna, I think, totally spawned some of the problems that Cersei developed in the story. I’m also not entirely sure he truly loved Lyanna. In my opinion, I think he would have treated her like he does Cersei-maybe not as badly, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d be faithful or treat her justly. I see Robert as more of a selfish child than a king. I don’t think he ever grew up, even though Ned did.


3.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?

My favorite moment (as I’ve mentioned) that just stays with me is when Petyr Baelish pushes Lysa Arryn out of the moon door. I don’t like for what he does, but the shock and the utter drama that ensues is brilliant. In that moment, I feel like you can glimpse him when he was younger, wanting to win Catelyn’s hand. I think his love for her is honest, if not flawed, and his attempt to protect Catelyn’s daughter is noble. Even if the methods are cunning themselves. I feel as though when he pushed Lysa out of the moon door, he was proving to himself-and to Brandon, though he wasn’t there-that Catelyn will always matter to him, no matter what stands between them.

4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?

I’d like to see an alliance between the Night’s Watch and Daenerys. I think they’d make a formidable force, and I’d like to see Arya as a master swordswoman, a legendary fighter, possibly become Daenerys’ captain of the guard. I think Jon should be given rule over Winterfell, the Wall, and the North. I do secretly wish that Jon’s parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and that they secretly loved each other and the “abduction” was a falsity. I’d like to see Tyrion give the death sentence to Cersei and Jamie personally (preferably in a public setting, loudly, so they will know as much shame as possible-the hurling of garbage and rotten food is also acceptable). I’d like to see Sansa step up to the plate and become a queen-because after her situations and what she’s learned, I do think she could be a good ruler (she’s learned what NOT to do, I suppose), though not Queen of Westeros, because I just don’t think she’s strong enough. I’d give the throne to Daenerys, because she balances strength and grace well…at the same time, I want to be surprised.



(edited because I forgot to put my name-oops...)

Comments

Tully

[chacusha]

I see mostly Targaryen although also a fair amount of Lannister and Tyrell. Your artisticness and grace seem to fit both Targ and Tyrell. Your analysis of love and your "determination" and "ingenuity" qualities definitely seem to me to fit both Tyrion and Dany. Finally you appear to have a vengeful streak (evidenced by the "begrudging" trait as well as your ideal ending for the series) which definitely fits Lannister and Targaryen (and Martell too) as a whole. In the end, I would definitely say Targaryen for you.